


Check-Out, Aisle Five

by snap_crackles (orphan_account)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, First Meetings, Fluff, I made this on a whim, M/M, junhui takes matters into his own hands. you'll see, there's like...two puns and one corny-ass pick-up line, when will minghao's friends let minghao live, you've got the classic gyuhao bickering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 02:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/snap_crackles
Summary: Minghao’s just scanning items and making it through one day at a time.Seokmin’s new to town, and might just uproot any sense of normalcy in Minghao’s everyday routine.Minghao’s co-workers are insufferable as ever.





	Check-Out, Aisle Five

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I, your local gyuhao enthusiast is also a huge sucker for seokhao! Happy New Year’s y’all! Take this fic as a gift!

It’s a hot and humid summer afternoon when our story begins at a neighborhood grocery store.

“Hi! How are you today? Did you find everything alright?”

Cashier Xu Minghao puts on his usual welcoming smile as a new customer rolls their empty cart forward.

She’s a woman approaching her middle ages—dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, sunglasses perched at the top of her head.

She lifts her chin upwards and tosses her long, silky hair over her shoulders as she reaches into her bag for her wallet.

“I found everything just fine.” The woman replies tersely without looking up, and Minghao refrains from rolling his eyes, proceeding to press the button on the conveyer belt so he can ring up her items.

It’s not exactly the most courteous response in the world, but he’ll take it. It’s certainly better than most responses he had received all day—which were grunts and blank stares.

It’s an awkward encounter—a silence between the two of them with only the beeps of the scanner filling the space in between.

Beep. _10-pack water_. Beep. _Broccoli._ Beep. _Salmon._ Beep. _A sack of potatoes._ Beep. _White wine…_

It’s during awkward silences when Junhui isn’t around that Minghao likes to play a little game in his head. Each customer is different, bringing in dissimilar items to the conveyor belt, and Minghao likes to piece them together—learning about his customers who don’t say anything at all.

It’s not like he intends to be nosy, but it keeps him focused and entertained on his task at hand—one of the few things that save him from going absolutely mind-numb within his tiny, designated space.

Beep. _Vanilla scented candles._ Beep. _Condoms?_

Minghao blushes, but doesn’t look up—just continues scanning and pushing forward with the woman’s story in his head.

_So it’s a hot date. Good on you, lady._

“Your total is $61.47.” Minghao announces after he finishes up bagging her things. “Will you pay with cash, credit or debit?”

“I have a debit on me.”

As the woman slips her debit card through the card reader and proceeds to answer some payment information, Minghao turns around searchingly, looking if Junhui had returned.

The grocery bagger usually stationed with Minghao at check-out isle five was currently off, assisting the last customer tended to—a haggard soccer mom who was dealing with a cartful of groceries and some fidgety kids (bless her heart).

After Minghao prints off the woman’s receipt, he watches as she puts her bags in the cart.

“I can call for someone to help you.” He offers, but the woman waves a hand dismissively, using her other free hand to slide her sunglasses over her eyes.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“Of course, no problem.” No response. “Have a nice day!” He calls after her retreating back, and when the woman continues pushing her cart along without looking back, Minghao sighs.

“Long day?” A male voice chuckles, and Minghao looks over to greet his next customer.

He’s a young man; perhaps Minghao’s age. Tall and slender with a high pair of cheekbones. Minghao notes that he’s incredibly good looking, and there’s a sympathetic smile on his face. The man’s eyes are also so warm and friendly, Minghao deflates.

“ _Dude_ ,” Minghao huffs. “You have _no_ idea.” he lets out a tired laugh and reaches over to the first item on the conveyor belt.

Beep. _Tangerines._

“So did you find everything okay?” Minghao glances up to find the customer watching him, the man wearing an open expression. The addressed male grins, and it’s a beautiful, infectious sight.

“Yeah, I’ve got everything I needed! I just moved to town, so this store is new to me, but your employees are all very helpful!” The man brightly answers, and at this Minghao snorts.

“That’s a first.” Minghao states, amused, and he only smiles wider at the genuinely confused look the customer sends him.

“What makes you say that?”

“Oh it’s nothing bad; they’re all great people!” Minghao quickly reassures. “But management gets a lot of comments that our workers are…odd.” Minghao quietly chuckles. When he looks down at the next item to scan, he shakes his head in fond exasperation.

Two cut flowers lay there—tulips.

“Case in point.” Minghao smiles, holding up the flowers and passing it to his customer. “Surely Hannie told you that the singular cut flowers he gives out are free?”

The other man ducks his head, grinning shyly as he reaches for the tulips.

“The florist, Hannie? His nametag said _Jeonghan_ —he mentioned it, but I thought it would be best to have it rung up anyway. I didn’t want to be that one guy who tried to walk out with a partial bouquet...”

“Oh no, you don’t have to worry about that here. This is a token of Hannie’s love.” Minghao says, rolling his eyes as he continues to ring up the man’s items. “Regular shoppers here know to take one. New shoppers can’t escape him. He must like you if he gave you two.”

Beep. _Chocolate chip cookies._

“He seems nice.” The other man agrees kindly, a thoughtful lilt to his tone, and when Minghao looks up, he finds that the customer is rolling the flowers’ stems between his fingers, staring at the soft pink bulbs with an expression of gentleness.

Minghao has to bite down a smile that’s fighting to grow on his lips.

Yes, Jeonghan must like this man a lot. The florist had a knack for picking out the soft-hearted.

“XU-to-the-MING-to-the-HAO!” A voice booms, and Minghao dramatically sighs before looking over his shoulder. It’s Junhui who’s arrived and currently tugging at the man’s shopping cart so he can put the bagged groceries in.

“Oh no, I’m sorry!” The customer’s eyes widen. “I wasn’t paying attention. I would’ve put the bags in the cart myself!” The man places the flowers stem-first into his back pocket before assisting Junhui in collecting the bagged groceries, but Junhui snickers.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s my job, and you’re keeping my frog company.”

“Frog?” The man raises his eyebrow in amusement, looking over at Minghao questioningly as he drops a bag into the basket.

“It’s my nickname for him. Hao likes frogs. Sometimes I call him Kermit.” Junhui playfully blows a kiss in Minghao’s direction, while Minghao says nothing, sending a death glare to Junhui instead.

“Awww.” The customer coos, “Cute,” and Minghao flushes, feeling heat creep up his neck as he transfers his attention to the other man.

“Your total is $37.50” He says in a polite tone. “Cash, credit, or debit?”

As the customer whips out a card, eyes twinkling, and letting out a giggle at Minghao’s faux-impassive expression, Junhui pouts.

“Aw, come on Hao, don’t be like that.” It’s a sweet tone, and Minghao looks back over to Junhui in mild annoyance.

He wants to blurt out _‘stop that, being cute won’t work!’_ but the grocery bagger is standing there with his head slightly tilted, eyes innocent, lips quirked in a small smile, and Minghao can’t help but exhale in mixed affection and frustration.

His friends really do have him wrapped around their fingers.

After the receipt prints, Minghao take the slip and holds it out for the customer to take. He smiles to assure the man that everything is all in play—that he’s not truly annoyed at anyone or anything, and the man brightly beams back.

“Thank you. Both of you.” The customer says with an expression so genuinely _honest_ , Minghao can’t decide if it would be better to look away or remain transfixed at the face he’s looking at.

So Minghao concentrates on finding his words instead.

“No problem! You have a good day okay? I hope you enjoy it around town.”

“I think I will. Enjoy it around here, I mean. And thank you, I hope you have a good day too!”

Minghao is about to greet the next customer as the man rolls his cart away when Junhui comes to him behind the register.

 _“Dude!”_ Minghao scolds when Junhui invades his personal space. He tries to hip-check his friend to the side as he sends an apologetic smile to the new customer standing in front of him; a woman wearing a puzzled expression. “Hello ma’am! Did you find everything alright?”

“Yes, I did.”

 _“Thighs, Hao.”_ Junhui hisses into Minghao’s ear. _“Did you see? Mr. Cheekbones has killer thighs about to burst out of them jeans!”_

Minghao feels his face heat up as he tries to ignore his friend, and looks over to the conveyor belt.

_“…You should’ve seen those legs!”_

“Junhui, you are dead to me.” Minghao growls, and Junhui backs away in giggles.

Beep. _A jar of olives._

It hits Minghao then how he had hardly paid attention to the items the man had left with.

_Tangerines. Chocolate chip cookies. Tulips from Jeonghan…What else? Everything about him was just… sweet?_

“A cute boy was at check-out number five a few hours ago.” Junhui begins when he sits down.

Sitting around a table in the breakroom are Minghao, Soonyoung, Jeonghan and Joshua, who are all in the middle of unpacking their lunches.

 _“We get it Junnie.”_ Jeonghan, the store’s florist, rolls his eyes. “You’re a hopeless romantic who falls in love with everyone you see.”

“Don’t expose me like this.” Junhui whines, pointing his spoon in Jeonghan’s direction. “And I didn’t fall in love with him this time. He’s just _cute_. That’s all.”

“The lettuce pieces in my salad are telling me you’re full of shit.” Soonyoung, an employee who works at produce, states, stabbing into his salad and waving his fork in the air. “You don’t just randomly mention good looking people without going into a tirade about how amazing they are. Fess up Jun. Spill the beans.”

“First of all, there are too many vegetable references in your dialogue. Three references are three too many. Please try again. Secondly, ask Kermit here to fess up.” Junhui angles his head to the left, where Minghao sits beside him.

Minghao, in the middle of chewing pizza, lets out a noise of alarm.

“Ohhh, does our little Hao Hao have a crush?” Jeonghan leans forward with interest, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “I can prepare you a bouquet! Very romantic. He’ll fall for it hook, line and sinker the next time he comes around!”

“I hate you all.” Minghao groans before downing a can of coke, almost finishing it in one go.

“Easy there, bud.” Soonyoung says with concern. “It’ll go down the wrong pipe. None of us know CPR.”

Minghao puts the can down and blinks.

“I’ll take the suffering, thanks.”

“So what’s he like?” Joshua, one of the store’s stockers, steers the conversation back to topic, and when Minghao turns to glare at him, Joshua just shrugs, unapologetically.

“He’s…smiley.” Minghao finishes lamely, and everyone stares back, unimpressed. Sighing, Minghao continues, if only to save himself from later interrogation. He can only pray that they can keep this contained between the five of them.

((Somewhere deep inside, he knows that it’s just wishful thinking.))

“He’s uh…very sweet? But in a laid back way! One of the few people who bothered to try and hold a conversation today—you know, acknowledging that I’m a human and not some working robot that scans shit. He has a pretty smile—pretty _cool_ smile! It’s honest. I know he means it. He’s cool.”

“A good bro.” Soonyoung nods solemnly.

“A swell buddy.” Jeonghan pitches in, the corners of his mouth twitching, knowing what Soonyoung had started.

“A fly guy.” Joshua adds with a straight face.

“A dandy dude.” Junhui smirks. And Minghao groans.

“I’d trade all of you for a single corn chip.” Minghao mutters, before taking an aggressive bite into his pizza.

“That’s false.” Soonyoung informs before stabbing into his salad again. “You love us more than anything.”

 

* * *

 

Two weeks pass.

It takes a few days for Minghao to shove away thoughts of the smiling man and his supposedly thick thighs; a hard feat that isn’t helped by his teasing co-workers, but the talk dies down and Minghao looks ahead, moving forward with his life.

It’s a Friday morning, not long after store opening, when Minghao is moved back to square one all over again…

 

“Nice dye job, Minghao! You look like you belong with a box of mangos!” A voice calls out behind him, and Minghao looks up to the ceiling, grinning.

Mingyu, one of the store managers and one of his best friends, is on schedule today. Turning on his heel, he finds Mingyu approaching, walking with an exaggerated cocky stride—it’s the aspiring model walk that has Minghao snorting.

“Fuck off Mingyu, you shriveled up looking string bean!”

“That roast was drier than the deli’s rotisserie chicken!”

“How much you wanna bet that your complexion in ten years will crumble like the bakery’s four day old carrot cake?”

“At least I’ll still have my hair and a healthy scalp!”

“Well _I_ think your hair’s quite nice.” Another voice Minghao was not expecting says, and Minghao jumps, startled.

Turning around, he finds Mr. Cheekbones (as referred to by all the employees) standing there, grinning, and if Minghao’s heart wasn’t already racing out of surprise, it was definitely racing now.

The man’s hair is spiked up, forehead exposed, as opposed to the bangs Minghao last saw him in.

“Hey.” Minghao croaks, unaware that he was still clutching his chest.

“Hey.” A moment’s pause. “Did I scare you?”

“No.” Minghao mutters, dropping his hand quickly before peering at the conveyor belt, only to find that it’s empty.

“Yeaaah, I’ve got a few cases of 32-pack water bottles in my cart.” Mr. Cheekbones says, and Minghao looks over to find that the cart is indeed filled with water bottle packs.

“I’ve got you.” Minghao pulls out the scanning gun, and as he turns to leave the register, he finds Mingyu leaning against the counter, watching the interaction with clear interest.

“Don’t you have people to boss around?” Minghao sighs, brushing past his friend, and Mingyu snickers.

“Nope.” Mingyu pops the ‘p’ sound loudly, causing the latter to turn and glare.

“I told you everyone who worked here was odd.” Minghao says, turning to face his customer who was watching them both with curiosity.

“Do you consider yourself odd?” Mr. Cheekbones asks.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Mingyu and Minghao answer simultaneously, which has the man raising both his eyebrows in amusement.

“Minghao is very odd.” Mingyu informs the customer seriously, and then he smiles—a smile as sharp as knives. “He’s a walking encyclopedia of grocery-themed pick-up lines!”

 _“Oh my God!”_ Minghao, who was in the middle of scanning the water bottles, stops and spins around to look at Mingyu who’s already half-laughing and backing away. “It’s all Jun’s fault!” Minghao says defensively. “He’s the one with all the cheesy pick-up lines! Not Me!”

“But you still know them!” Mingyu retorts before turning on his heel and walking away. “Have fun with your scanning, mango head. I’ve got people to boss around!” The manager tosses over his shoulder, and Minghao flips him off good-naturedly.

“Fucking prick.” Minghao mutters fondly under his breath. When he looks up, he finds Mr. Cheekbones watching him with awe.

“Grocery-themed pick-up lines?” The customer echoes, and a teasing smile begins to grow on his face. “Care to share?” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully, and Minghao internally screams.

_Too hot, hot damn… Fuck you, Mingyu._

“No.” Minghao says flatly before returning to his register, and the customer throws his head back and laughs.

“That’s fine then.” Mr. Cheekbones says cheerfully as he reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. “I’ll get you to tell me one someday!”

“Yeaaah, no. That’s never happening, bud.” Minghao shakes his head, and he can feel his armpits sweat.

_Is this flirting? Are we flirting?_

“Mmm. We’ll see.” The customer peers up from the card reader, and Minghao wants to die from the cocky smile hinting at the man’s lips.

“So what are all the water bottles for?” Minghao asks as he presses some buttons and waits for the receipt to print out, hoping to switch the topic into something less…intense.

“Oh, I actually volunteer at an elementary school for summer activities!” The customer brightens. “I’m working with kids on a daily basis—I plan on being a teacher, so I’m getting some experience under my belt. Today we’re having a field day of sorts, so they’ve got to stay hydrated!”

And Minghao can see it—Mr. Cheekbones with a sunshine smile, surrounded by children. He smiles softly at that.

“Well I hope you and your kiddos have a good day today.” Minghao says sincerely, as he passes the man the receipt.

“I will, thank you—you too!”

Minghao watches as the man pushes the cart away…watches as the man greets good mornings to other employees passing by…watches how good the guy’s ass looks in those basketball shorts…

_I’m not falling for a stranger. I’m not falling for a stranger. I’m not falling for a stranger…_

Minghao sighs and turns around, and from the corner of his eye, he sees movement. Curiously, he peers over, only to find Joshua and Junhui scurrying away, loudly giggling, and Minghao’s soul fills with trepidation.

They’re never going to let him live.

 

When Minghao enters the breakroom, his eyesight locks onto Mingyu who’s stirring a cup of coffee and chatting with the other manager, Seungcheol.

“You better run, Kim!” Minghao barks, and Mingyu looks over and grins. “You’re fucking dead!”

“Language, Hao.” Seungcheol reprimands, but everyone knows he’s hiding a smile as he takes a sip from his cup of coffee.

“How’d it go with Mr. Cheekbones?” Jeonghan calls out, lounging on his chair.

As Minghao stalks forward towards Mingyu, he points towards Jeonghan in a don’t-test-me kind of way.

“Yeah! _Hao_ did it go?” Mingyu giggles as Minghao snatches his drink, places it on the counter, and proceeds to attack him with playful pokes to the ribs. “Did you try out one of those pick-up lines? _OW!”_

“Pick-up lines?” Junhui perks up. “The _grocery_ ones?”

“Oh no.” Soonyoung whispers.

Mingyu successfully pushes Minghao off, the two of them breathless and slightly disheveled by their brief roughhousing.

“No, and he’s never gonna hear them.” Minghao says, with finality.

“Shame.” Junhui clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “And to think I taught you well.”

 

* * *

 

The third time Mr. Cheekbones comes around, it’s evening, and only three days have passed since their last encounter.

Minghao is in the middle of adding more coins into the register when Junhui clears his throat.

“Hey Hao, we’ve got company.” Junhui says casually, and Minghao looks over to the end of the check-out aisle to find Mr. Cheekbones standing there, wearing a hesitant smile.

“Is your register open?” The man asks hopefully. “I won’t be long, it’s just a few things.” He holds out a small hand basket that isn’t even full of items, and Minghao looks upwards to find that the aisle light indicating availability has died.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Minghao smiles welcomingly and waves the man over. “I can ring your stuff up.” He watches as relief floods the other man’s face.

“How are you?”

“Did you find everything okay?”

The two, speaking up at the same time, pause and stare at each other before sharing a small laugh.

“Sorry, you go first.” Minghao says, reaching to scan the first item.

Beep. _Toothpaste._

When Minghao looks up, he finds the other man scratching his neck shyly.

“I asked how you were.” The man holds Minghao’s gaze and softly smiles. “Did you have a good day today?”

The question, so gently asked, has Minghao melting inside, but he plays it cool and shrugs.

“It wasn’t bad. Work is work. A paycheck is a paycheck for my tuition, so I can’t complain. My day went well.” Minghao grins and watches as his customer nods in approval at the news. “And you? How has your day been?”

“It’s good. The kids went to an aquarium today, so for a Monday, it wasn’t bad.”

“Oh, that sounds fun! Your total is $10.17.”

Mr. Cheekbones pulls out a $20 bill, and as he passes it over to Minghao, their fingers brush.

The contact is electric, and Minghao fights the urge to let out a tiny gasp; also refusing to look up and see if the man had felt it too. He focuses on placing the twenty in the register instead, and with clumsy fingers, he begins to count out change.

((Minghao doesn’t see how the other man’s eyes had widened. He doesn’t see the faint blush that had colored the man’s cheeks.))

((Junhui sees it all.))

When Minghao drops the change into the man’s hands, he’s careful that they don’t touch again.

“Seokmin.” The customer blurts out. And Minghao looks up, confused, only to find the man blushing.

“Pardon?”

“My name’s Seokmin.” Mr. Cheekbones says. “You still don’t know my name—I figured just now that I should tell you…you know, for if we keep seeing each other.” Seokmin is now bright red in the face, and Minghao can feel his heart race.

“Seokmin.” Minghao partially whispers. “Thank you…for telling me. I should’ve asked…” There’s a sound of a receipt printing and as he turns to get the piece of paper, Seokmin ducks his head for a second out of embarrassment.

“Have a good night, Seokmin.” Minghao quietly says, as he passes the man the receipt.

“You too, Minghao.”

 

“Orange you glad you finally know his name?” Soonyoung asks the next day in the breakroom, waving his orange slice in the air. “Ay, geddit? Orange? Aren’t?”

 _“We get it, Soonyoung.”_ Jeonghan sighs, side-eying the younger fondly. “Now eat your fruits like a good growing boy.”

“At least we don’t have to keep referring to him as Mr. Cheekbones.” Joshua shrugs. “Seokmin rolls off the tongue more easily.” At this, Jeonghan giggles.

“Care to share?” Soonyoung asks when everyone turns to look at Jeonghan who’s shaking in his chair, Joshua being the most alarmed.

 “Yeah, please do share.” Junhui requests leaning forward. Jeonghan takes one look at Minghao, whose eyebrows are furrowed, and the oldest man shakes his head, laughing harder.

“No, it’s nothing.” Jeonghan waves dismissively, attempting to calm himself. “I don’t have a death wish.”

“Now you _really_ have to share.” Minghao arches an eyebrow, sitting back and folding his arms.

Jeonghan takes a deep breath, lets out one last snicker, and then says:

“It’s just…’Shua said that the name Seokmin rolls off the tongue, and I couldn’t help but think that maybe our Hao Hao would like to have his tongue all over Seokmin!”

Soonyoung chokes on his orange slice.

Junhui begins to cackle.

Joshua shoves Jeonghan, the latter falling onto the floor, laughing.

“Please don’t kill me. You’re still my precious sunflower!” Jeonghan says from his spot on the ground, mirth still in his eyes as he gazes up at Minghao, who’s now very red in the face.

Minghao decides that there must be a very special spot in the seventh circle of hell for all his terrible friends. And Jeonghan can be the first to burn.

He also hates that Jeonghan has planted that image into his head. He also hates that he likes it.

 

* * *

 

“Funny meat-ing you here.”

Two days have passed and business is slow. Minghao, who’s in the middle of typing up a text message, looks up to find Seokmin leaning against the conveyor counter, wearing a Cheshire smile.

Minghao looks down to find a pack of chicken legs waiting to be scanned, and he has to look away, biting his lower lip, fighting the giant-ass smile itching to break out on his face.

“I’ll pretend that pun didn’t leave your mouth.” Minghao says, scanning the pack of chicken and bagging it.

“If you’re not gonna tell me any pick-up lines, you’re gonna have to suffer through my cheesy puns.” Seokmin says, before pulling out a pack of cheese sticks from seemingly nowhere and tossing them over to Minghao. Minghao takes one look at the package he catches, and laughs.

“Clever.” Minghao acknowledges, and Seokmin fist-pumps triumphantly, making Minghao giggle. “Will that be all?” Minghao asks, and Seokmin nods his head, digging into his pocket.

“Yes, sir!”

“Why did you buy so little?” Minghao asks as Seokmin slides a debit card through the card reader. “Won’t it be easier to buy things all at once?”

“Why? Don’t you like my company?” Seokmin looks up, pouting playfully. “I like seeing you. Don’t you like seeing me?”

“I didn’t say that I didn’t.” Minghao mumbles, pressing some buttons, feeling heat creep into his face. He can only hope it doesn’t show.

As he pivots in his spot to await for the receipt to print, he catches from the corner of his eye Seokmin giving him a once-over—feels Seokmin’s gaze rove over his body—and a jolt of excitement runs down his spine.

Minghao knows that he isn’t much to look at—at least, not right now, clad in his plain, unappealing employee uniform; and yet he doesn’t know what comes over him when he allows himself to slightly tilt his head upward, to expose the skin of his neck. To add a little spice, Minghao allows his tongue to slowly dart out of his mouth to wet his bottom lip.

It’s as hot as he can make himself right now, and when Minghao turns to give Seokmin the receipt, he grins innocently as if nothing had happened.

“Have a nice day, Seokmin. I’ll see you soon.” Minghao chirps, and takes in his customer’s slightly blown pupils and the blush coloring the man’s cheeks.

_God, he really does blush prettily._

Today, it feels good to have the upper-hand.

“You too, Hao.” Seokmin croaks, and Minghao watches amusedly as Seokmin hastily leaves with a face on fire.

Minghao doesn’t catch how Seungcheol, Joshua, Junhui, and Mingyu watch on, crowded together at the far corner of the front checkout counter where all the cigarettes are sold.

Mingyu and Seungcheol are clutching each other, while Joshua stands there with a hand cupped over his mouth, as if he were watching some daytime drama unfold on TV, and Junhui is fanning himself.

The breakroom is going to be a disaster.

 

“SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT UP A SIGN THAT SAYS CHECK-OUT ISLE FIVE IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED BECAUSE _TWO_ _PEOPLE_ CAN’T SEEM TO CONTAIN THEIR EYE FUCKING!” Seungcheol announces with a megaphone the second Minghao walks into the breakroom. Minghao zeroes in on his manager with wide eyes in a way that a deer looks at a car, caught in its headlights.

“My baby is growing up.” Jeonghan sniffles, brushing an imaginary tear away. “I’m so proud. Bloom, my sunflower! Bloom!”

“Ask. Him. Out! Ask. Him. Out! Ask. Him. Out!” Soonyoung begins a chant that Junhui and Mingyu soon join.

Minghao takes one look at the breakroom, filled with his friends from hell, and stalks out.

 

* * *

 

It’s a stormy day later in the week when Seokmin stops by the grocery store for the fifth time, and when he steps up next, and Minghao almost stops breathing.

Seokmin’s in a fitted white tee-shirt that’s soaked from the rain. His neck is still slick, hair damp. He looks so _good_ , but Minghao locks in on the man’s bare arms, revealing chills.

“You’re gonna get a cold, stupid!” is the first thing that leaves Minghao’s mouth. “Where the hell’s your jacket?” Seokmin blinks surprised, before smiling apologetically.

“I didn’t check the weather before leaving home this morning. I thought the storm would lift while I was at the school. I was wrong.”

Minghao makes a strangled sound before shedding off his own jacket and tossing it over to Seokmin, who catches it.

“Hao, I can’t.” Seokmin begins, eyes wide.

“Seokmin, you better fucking wear it!” Minghao growls as he reaches for the first item to scan. The man ducks his head blushing, and obeys.

“Thanks.” Seokmin mumbles, zipping up the jacket, and Minghao smiles slightly at the words.

“No problem.”

Beep. _Spinach_. Beep. _Milk_. Beep. _24-pack of water._ Beep. _Laundry detergent._ Beep.

It’s quiet between them today, Minghao scanning items and Seokmin occasionally sniffling. It’s distracting to Minghao, keeping him from playing his little game of piecing together Seokmin’s purchased items. He peers upward in concern to find that Seokmin’s gazing back from under Minghao’s hood.

“You okay?” Minghao asks softly, and when Seokmin nods, he clicks his tongue. “Change into something dry the second you get home. You’re going to get sick.” The worry has Seokmin smiling lopsidedly.

“I promise, I want to get out of these wet clothes just as much as you want me to.”

The statement has Minghao dropping the loaf of bread in his hands, and Seokmin’s eyes widen upon realization that the response can be taken in any way.

“I mean—”

“I know what you meant.” Minghao gently placates, collecting himself and trying to stop his heart from racing. He tries not to think about Seokmin shedding off that damp shirt. He tries not to think about all that hidden, beautiful tan skin.

_Fuck._

“$67.81” Minghao croaks, and he watches as Seokmin fumbles with his wallet.

_Fuck._

A sound of a throat clearing makes both of their heads shoot up, and both men turn to look at Junhui, who had finished depositing the bagged groceries into Minghao’s cart.

“Minghao can help you take your things to your car.” Junhui says casually. “He and I can switch places.”

Minghao narrows his eyes at his friend, knowing exactly Junhui’s intentions.

“It’s fine,” Seokmin says, nervously laughing. “I can manage on my own.”

“Nonsense!” Junhui says, walking over to the register and tugging Minghao away. “You’re the only customer in our isle. Besides, it’ll be faster for you to load up your things!”

“I don’t have a jacket.” Minghao says tersely, and Junhui shrugs.

The grocery bagger unzips his jacket and throws it to Minghao unceremoniously. He claps when Minghao catches it.

“Problem solved.” Junhui states, pressing some buttons to print Seokmin’s receipt. “I’ve been going in and out of the rain all day. Be a precious frog and take one for the team?” Junhui looks over his shoulder to Minghao as he hands Seokmin the receipt. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?” Junhui bats his eyelashes.

Minghao looks over to Seokmin, who’s also patiently staring at him with curious eyes.

Beautiful Seokmin who’s wearing _his_ jacket…

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Minghao grumbles, and takes the far end of the shopping cart.

“Thank you, Hao Hao.” Junhui winks, and Minghao sticks his tongue out.

“You ready to go?” Minghao asks looking at Seokmin, maneuvering the cart so that he has the cart’s handlebar. When Seokmin nods, they both head out.

“Let me push my cart.” Seokmin says as they make their way to the store’s exit.

“No, it’s _my_ job to push the cart.” Minghao replies, not budging from his spot.

“Can we _both_ push the cart?” Seokmin asks, keeping pace with Minghao, and Minghao looks over at Seokmin who’s staring at him hopefully.

Minghao licks his lips which suddenly feel very dry.

“Yeah,” He concedes, moving over some “Yeah, we can do that.”

They pass by the florist station where Jeonghan is absentmindedly admiring a pot of hydrangeas when the florist perks up at the sight of them together.

“Oh my God.” Jeonghan whispers, his eyes going wide. “Oh my God!” He dashes out from behind his counter and heads for produce, on a mission to spread the word.

“Ignore him.” Minghao says when Seokmin looks over to Jeonghan on the move. “He’s just gossiping.”

“About us?” Seokmin asks with amusement.

“Unfortunately.” Minghao snorts. They reach the front doors when Seokmin stops walking and tugs the cart back.

“Wait.” Seokmin says, and Minghao looks up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“Your hood.” Seokmin says, reaching over to Junhui’s jacket and pulling the jacket hood up. “Don’t catch a cold.” He says softly, and Minghao ducks his head.

“Thanks.”

“Mm-hm.” Seokmin hums. And then he smiles playfully. “Let’s make a run for it.”

Minghao looks out into the pouring rain and back at Seokmin’s infectious smile, feeling himself grin too.

“On a count of three?” He asks.

“One.” Seokmin starts.

“Two.” Minghao nods.

“Three!” They shout together, and run off, pushing the cart into the storm, laughing.

“Where did you park?” Minghao shouts over the thunder, and he feels so free.

“That grey car over there!” Seokmin shouts back. The parking lot has flooded by four inches, and the lower parts of their pants are soaked from the water.

When they arrive to Seokmin’s car, both of their heads are drenched, their hoods having flew backwards while they ran. Seokmin pops open the trunk, and the two start throwing bagged groceries in.

Minghao steals a glance at Seokmin—watches as rain water slides off the man’s nose, hair sticking to wet skin, the man’s lips slightly parted…

_Fuck it._

Minghao looks into the trunk, and finds the closest grocery item—a tub of potato salad from the deli.

“Hey Seokmin, you want a pick-up line?” Minghao asks, and Seokmin looks over, surprised.

Seokmin gazes briefly at potato salad in the cashier’s hands, the product having been un-bagged, and he grins.

“Lay it on me.”

Minghao bites his bottom lip (in a way that Seokmin’s come to adore).

“The expiration date says ‘best if used by tonight.’ Can I make you dinner?” Minghao’s wearing a shit-eating grin, eyes alight, and Seokmin chuckles.

“Depends? Do you know how to cook?” He teases, taking the potato salad from Minghao’s hands and placing it back in the trunk, eyes never leaving the cashier.

“No, not really.” Minghao says honestly. “But I can make a mean bowl of canned spaghetti-o’s. You can say we’ll be having Italian.”

“Mmm,” Seokmin walks closer and pushes away Minghao’s mango-yellow hair that’s sticking to Minghao’s forehead. “That sounds good. _Or_ I can come over anyway and we can make dinner together. Real Italian.”

“ _Fuck_ that sounds good.” Minghao groans, causing Seokmin to laugh.

“You eat boxed dinners too often, do you?” Seokmin asks fondly, fingers traveling down to Minghao’s cheek, and Minghao pouts.

“I’m a college student who’s living on my own on a budget and a schedule.” Minghao lifts his hand and holds Seokmin’s fingers in place. “Give me some credit.” A pause. “So, it’s a date?”

“I’ll need to return your jacket anyway. All I need is your address and I can make it to your place tonight, or whenever you’re available.”

“Tonight.” Minghao says a little too quickly.

“Tonight.” Seokmin nods.

And they stand there, in the warm summer rain, in a grocery store parking lot. It can almost be like a movie, _almost_ , with how they hold each other’s hands, gazing into one another’s eyes.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I based this on the Albertson’s grocery store system we have in the states, where the person bagging your groceries will offer to help you take your things to your car. I just wanted a cheesy-ass scene where Minghao helps Seokmin take groceries out.  
> Listen, I’m a basic bitch who secretly loves corny things like this. Don’t @ me.


End file.
